"Session" IPA's - let's hear it!

[terrapinj]

I'm mulling over a hypothesis in my head that the lower the ABV is the greater the variety of ingredients you should use. Again, this is a hypothesis.

The danger of low ABV beers is of course thinness of flavor and body. So how to counteract that? Specialty malts is of course a good solution. But is it as simple as just adding some crystal 60? Adding a single specialty malt will of course help, but would it be better if you use say a mix of crystals 20, 60 and 120 rather than a sample total amount of just one of these. I'm thinking that while in a higher ABV beer the differences might tend to wash out, but in a low ABV beer the complexity from the mix might show through better and make a difference

People always say the brewing pale lagers is a good test as any flaws will show up. Does that not also mean that any *intentional* flavors will also show up better? I'm equating pale lagers with low ABV ales (valid?)

pale lagers don't have any specialty malts, heavy hoping etc to mask any flaws. when working on my recipe i tried to look into the english bitter styles as they are very similar concept but with less hop flavor/ibu

 

[pjj2ba]

pale lagers don't have any specialty malts, heavy hoping etc to mask any flaws. when working on my recipe i tried to look into the english bitter styles as they are very similar concept but with less hop flavor/ibu

That was my point. Since in low ABV beers, whether an ale of a lager, there is nothing to hide any flaws, then anything you add will be noticed. I don't think adding more hops (especially aroma) to an English bitter is enough. I think one needs to cram some more malty flavors into the beer to balance all of the hops. For the most part I started with my IPA recipe, dropped the base malt way down, and actually added a bit more specialty malts. I generally like to keep my grain bills very simple, but in this case, I think small amounts of a bunch of different specialty malts may be a good thing. I'm aiming for a whole lot of complexity/flavors, just in a low ABV beer.

My holy grail is the antithesis of the great tasting beer that hides it's alcohol really well (ie Bells Hopslam) The ones that come in at 10% + ABV but you think it is only 6 %. I want a beer that people think must certainly be a strong beer, but in fact has less alcohol then most beers

 

[beerkrump]

Alright, I've read through this. Now let me see if I get the gist of this new style.

1) Must be hoppy. Similar to an IPA. This is most likely to be achieved by hop bursting so the flavor and aroma are there, but the BU:GU isn't out of whack.
2) ABV should be around 4%.
3) Must have enough supporting malt character to not be over whelmed by the hops.

Getting 1 and 2 aren't a problem, it's number 3 that's the toughie. Using a flavorful base malt, like a Marris Otter, could help. Adding wheat for some extra protein might also help with mouth feel. Is there any problem with pushing the SRMs toward 15, even 20? If we do that, you can add some pale chocolate and C-120 to liven things up.

 

[terrapinj]

That was my point. Since in low ABV beers, whether an ale of a lager, there is nothing to hide any flaws, then anything you add will be noticed. I don't think adding more hops (especially aroma) to an English bitter is enough. I think one needs to cram some more malty flavors into the beer to balance all of the hops. For the most part I started with my IPA recipe, dropped the base malt way down, and actually added a bit more specialty malts. I generally like to keep my grain bills very simple, but in this case, I think small amounts of a bunch of different specialty malts may be a good thing. I'm aiming for a whole lot of complexity/flavors, just in a low ABV beer.

My holy grail is the antithesis of the great tasting beer that hides it's alcohol really well (ie Bells Hopslam) The ones that come in at 10% + ABV but you think it is only 6 %. I want a beer that people think must certainly be a strong beer, but in fact has less alcohol then most beers

i guess i'm not seeing what the ABV has to do with flavors and hiding flaws. i agree that you shouldn't simply take a bitter recipe and replace with more american hops but it's a good start as a basis IMHO.

 

[pjj2ba]

i guess i'm not seeing what the ABV has to do with flavors and hiding flaws. i agree that you shouldn't simply take a bitter recipe and replace with more american hops but it's a good start as a basis IMHO.

It comes down to less base malt = less malt flavors = easier to spot flaws. And less base malt = lower ABV, therefore lower ABV = easier to spot flaws.

If I'm using half the malt I would for a normal beer, then I'm getting half the amount of flavor I would normally get from my grain bill. So the trick is to up the malty flavors in a low ABV beer

 

[MoeFoties]

I'm planning to tackle this "session IPA" project this Saturday. Here's what I'm planning to brew:

Batch Size: 6-Gallons
OG: 1.042
IBU: 42-ish
Color: 7.5 SRM
Yeast: Wyeast 1056
Primary: 14-Days @ 68F
Secondary: 7-Day dry-hop @ 70F
Mash: 1.25 Qts/Lb for 45-min @ 156F

Grain Bill:
8.5 lbs Golden Promise (80.96%)
0.5 lbs Crystal 60 (4.65%)
0.75 lbs Munich 10L (6.98%)
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt (4.65%)
0.5 lbs Carapils (4.65%)

Hops:
Warrior 0.3oz FWH
Falconer's Flight 0.5oz @ 20, 15, 10, and 5
Falconer's Flight 1oz at Flameout
Falconer's Flight 1oz Dry Hop
Summit 1oz Dry Hop

 

[bob1852]

Alright, I've read through this. Now let me see if I get the gist of this new style.

1) Must be hoppy. Similar to an IPA. This is most likely to be achieved by hop bursting so the flavor and aroma are there, but the BU:GU isn't out of whack.
2) ABV should be around 4%.
3) Must have enough supporting malt character to not be over whelmed by the hops.

Yes. nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar:nestar:

Getting 1 and 2 aren't a problem, it's number 3 that's the toughie. Using a flavorful base malt, like a Marris Otter, could help. Adding wheat for some extra protein might also help with mouth feel. Is there any problem with pushing the SRMs toward 15, even 20? If we do that, you can add some pale chocolate and C-120 to liven things up.

Flaked barley would add some mouthfeel as well.

 

[MoeFoties]

brewed this one up 7 days ago, def will be on the heavy hop side

3.5# 2-row
3.5# marris otter
.5# c20
.5# flaked barley
.25# chocolate malt
continuous hop with 4oz simcoe starting at 20min, hit with another 1oz to steep after flameout and dry hop with 1oz after primary and 1oz in keg

Please let us know how this one turns out...looks like it has some serious potential!

 

[Autodidact]

I'll try to drum up a recipe and brew it tonight. Maybe there's a golden ratio for IPA to session IPA conversion. Something like remove 25% of the grain bill and 10% of the hops. Who knows?

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I'll try to drum up a recipe and brew it tonight. Maybe there's a golden ratio for IPA to session IPA conversion. Something like remove 25% of the grain bill and 10% of the hops. Who knows?

Let us know how it went!

 

[MoeFoties]

Here's the finalized recipe of what I plan to brew Saturday. It's imortant to note I'll be brewing this beer with cigar in hand and 21st Amendment's "Bitter American" in my glass! Wish me luck ladies and gentlemen...I'll report back in 3-4 weeks

ATOMIC Session IPA
Batch Size: 6-Gallons
OG: 1.041
IBU: 43.79
Color: 8.9 SRM
Yeast: US-05 (if my LHBS is out I'll go with 1056)
Primary: 14-Days @ 68F
Secondary: 7-Day dry-hop @ 70F
Mash: 1.25 Qts/Lb for 45-min @ 156F

Grain Bill:
8 lbs Golden Promise (76.19%)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 (7.14%)
0.75 lbs Munich 10L (7.14%)
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt (4.76%)
0.5 lbs Carapils (4.76%)

Hops:
Warrior 0.35oz FWH (18.11 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 20 (5.93 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 15 (4.86 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.5oz @ 10 (7.1 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 5 (7.81 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 0
Falconer's Flight 1oz Dry Hop (7-days)
Summit 1oz Dry Hop (7-Days)

 

[bobbrews]

Here's one I just created it in my head. Comments welcome; I never brewed this style before:

Mercy Session IPA

6 gal boil / 5 gal batch
1.041 / 1.009 @ 4.2% abv
36-46 IBUs
3.5 SRM
Mash @ 146-148 F

54-60% Briess Pilsen Light DME, or German 2-row Pils
25% Global Kolsch Malt
6-8% Weyermann Light Munich
6-8% Weyermann Carahell
4-6% Briess White Wheat

0.75 oz. Cascade @ FWH
1.50 oz. Cascade @ 5
0.75 oz. Cascade @ post-boil hopstand
0.75 oz. Amarillo or Centennial @ post-boil hopstand
1.25 oz. Amarillo or Centennial @ 5 day dry hop
0.50 oz. Cascade @ 5 day dryhop

White Labs WLP029 - German Ale / Kolsch

 

[RichBenn]

Although I only read 2/3 of the posts in this thread, I didn't see anyone mention Dudes Lake Walk Pale Ale. I made a variation of this beer, the main change being adding all of the hops, adjusted for IBUs, at 30 minutes or less. Reduced the O.G. slightly as well, and put in a wee bit of Citra in the dry hop.

It was VERY well received. You could smell the hops from across the room! IMHO, a west coast IPA is all about the hop flavor and aroma. So when dropping the alcohol content, it's not easy. 60 minute hops just don't make sense. Both FWH and 30-15 minute hops reduce the perceived bitterness while increasing the flavor component. It's the way to get the hops in there in a low alcohol offering.

It's still not the same, though. I had a Pliny the Elder clone, an award winning IPA, and a low alcohol stout on tap all at once. People would try the stout and say "This is good". The IPA, they'd say, "this is very good". The Pliny clone, they'd say "wow"! It's kinda hard to compare different classes side by side, and no matter how you cut it, a hoppy Bitter, Pale Ale, or whatever you call it will always lose out to a stronger, heavily hopped IPA or IIPA. (At least for hop heads) The trick is not to serve them side by side.

 

[fenners]

I'm looking to make something in this style, and came up with this off of the "Pliny The Toddler" recipe. Bumped the hops to 1oz as that's what my local store sells

5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 50.0 %
3 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 35.0 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.0 %
1.00 oz Warrior [15.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 42.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 9.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 1.0 Hop 7 1.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast 9 -



Any obvious improvements? This is the first recipe I've modified... Comes out to 4.6% in Beersmith with 53.9IBU.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

I'm looking to make something in this style, and came up with this off of the "Pliny The Toddler" recipe. Bumped the hops to 1oz as that's what my local store sells

5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 50.0 %
3 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 35.0 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.0 %
1.00 oz Warrior [15.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 42.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 6 9.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 1.0 Hop 7 1.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast 9 -



Any obvious improvements? This is the first recipe I've modified... Comes out to 4.6% in Beersmith with 53.9IBU.

Personally I´ll try FWH or all late hopping and forget about the 60 minutes addition otherwise It will be a hoppy pale ale. But looks good at least to me!

 

[terrapinj]

Please let us know how this one turns out...looks like it has some serious potential!

will do. I just kegged it last night after cold crashing. decided to do 2oz dry hops in keg (let it warm up after cold crash and racking) and will remove those and add another 1oz when i place it in the keezer.

sample tasted great, great hop flavor, aroma was good but not amazing, that should change soon

 

[pjj2ba]

I entered my latest attempt as a Specialty Beer in the Buzz-off Comp. this past weekend in West Chester, PA. It beat out 47 other entries to take first place!!! I haven't seen the score sheets yet, but I suspect the judges were impressed with the hops (bitterness, flavor and aroma) in such a small beer. It is definitely all IPA as far as the hops are concerned. I still think the body is not quite there compared to a true IPA, but I think there is more interest these days in lower ABV beers and so the judges may have showed it some leniancy that they might not have a few years ago when bigger was always better.

I'll post the recipe tomorrow. I was a bit lucky. The beer is 8 weeks old now. It was fully dry hopped and then into the keg 12 days after brewing. My initial thoughts have been that the Simcoe dry hops were too strong and were covering up the Citra (1 oz ea. as a dry hop). It has been that way until the middle of last week. The Simcoe faded a bit and the Citra is now more evident. It tastes much better now than it did just a week ago.

I'm brewing this again in a couple weeks and have already made a few changes. I'm sticking with 2 oz of total dry hops and am going to back off on the simcoe to somewhere between 0.5 - 0.75 oz and replace it with some other hop, leaning towards something a bit floral. Perhaps Crystal or Palisade or Liberty

 

[permo]

Type: All Grain Date: 4/22/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Boil Size: 13.71 gal

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 56.4 %
4 lbs Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 2 20.5 %
2 lbs Toasted Malt (27.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.3 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.1 %
0.50 oz Magnum [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 8.8 IBUs
2.00 oz Spalter [1.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 4.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 4.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 1.9 IBUs
2.00 oz Spalter [1.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
1 lbs 8.0 oz Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 12 7.7 % (added at flameout)

Beer Profile

Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.007 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.9 %
Bitterness: 19.5
Est Color: 6.3 SRM
Mash temp = 150 degrees
mash time = 180 minutes
Wyeast Kolsch Yeast
Start ferment cool and let rise

 

[Jazong]

Very cool. Congratulations. Can't wait to see that recipe. I'd also love to hear about any other changes you would make in addition to the Dry hopping you just mentioned.

So do you like it outright, or just as a small IPA. I mean would this be a go to beer (in the regular rotation) or is it good because it is a tough beer to make and it's a long way from bad?

Cheers,

-J

 

[pjj2ba]

I don't know if it is quite yet at go to status. In certain situations though it is great. It is actually a nice lawnmower IPA. So for those who want more than what a typical lawnmower beer delivers in terms of hops, this beer is great. It goes down really easy and has the refreshing quality of a typical lawnmower beer.

However, when I'm just kicking back and relaxing and want something to really savor, I'd like a little more out of a beer than this delivers - for now

 

[pjj2ba]

Here it is

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 6.63
Anticipated OG: 1.044 Plato: 11.07
Anticipated SRM: 8.6
Anticipated IBU: 48.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 90 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name
60.4 4.00 lbs. Pale Malt - Golden Promise
15.1 1.00 lbs. Vienna BestMalz
7.5 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt
5.7 0.38 lbs. Crystal 40L
5.7 0.38 lbs. Biscuit Malt
3.8 0.25 lbs. Crystal 60L
1.9 0.13 lbs. Dark Crystal II

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.00 g. Chinook Whole 13.00 22.2 First WH
18.00 g. Crystal Whole 4.60 4.4 20 min.
14.00 g. Sorachi Ace Pellet 10.90 8.9 20 min.
28.00 g. Crystal Whole 4.60 3.4 5 min.
28.00 g. Simcoe Whole 12.90 9.5 5 min.
28.00 g. Citra Pellet 11.00 0.0 Dry Hop
28.00 g. Simcoe Pellet 12.90 0.0 Dry Hop

Yeast

White Labs WLP023 Burton Ale

Mash Schedule

Mash in at 122 F and immediately heat to 155 F (took 16 min), Mash for 45 min the mash out at 170

Fermented at 65 F for 7 days before dry hopping in primary. Kegged 5 days later
FG was 1.012

Notes
"Dry" Hops were mixed with 10 Tbsp of vodka for 1 hr before adding everything to the pirmary fermenter

 

[MoeFoties]

Here's the finalized recipe of what I plan to brew Saturday. It's imortant to note I'll be brewing this beer with cigar in hand and 21st Amendment's "Bitter American" in my glass! Wish me luck ladies and gentlemen...I'll report back in 3-4 weeks

ATOMIC Session IPA
Batch Size: 6-Gallons
OG: 1.041
IBU: 43.79
Color: 8.9 SRM
Yeast: US-05 (if my LHBS is out I'll go with 1056)
Primary: 14-Days @ 68F
Secondary: 7-Day dry-hop @ 70F
Mash: 1.25 Qts/Lb for 45-min @ 156F

Grain Bill:
8 lbs Golden Promise (76.19%)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 (7.14%)
0.75 lbs Munich 10L (7.14%)
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt (4.76%)
0.5 lbs Carapils (4.76%)

Hops:
Warrior 0.35oz FWH (18.11 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 20 (5.93 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 15 (4.86 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.5oz @ 10 (7.1 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 5 (7.81 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 0
Falconer's Flight 1oz Dry Hop (7-days)
Summit 1oz Dry Hop (7-Days)

Mine tasted pretty good coming out of primary yesterday (though it's always hard to tell with all that yeastiness). It should be ready for the real test in about 2 weeks or so...I'll be sure and post with the results. I brewed it as shown above, with the following modifications: 1/2 lb less Golden Promise, 1/4 lb more Munich, 0.45oz Amarillo FWH, 10-day primary @ 66F, and Wyeast 1272 American Ale II. My OG was a tad high at 1.044 (totally acceptable though) and my FG was 1.012 (just where I'd hoped).

 

[ScootersAle]

Sub'd. I too would love an IPA around the 4% abv range.

 

[14thstreet]

Hops were mixed with 10 Tbsp of vodka for 1 hr before adding everything to the pirmary fermenter

Are these your dry hops, and if so, what's your reasoning behind this, better extraction?

 

[pjj2ba]

Are these your dry hops, and if so, what's your reasoning behind this, better extraction?

Yes, dry hops and for better extraction. The oils are not that water soluble. I had tried someone else's low ABV IPA and even though it was dry hopped, it was really lacking in the hop aroma. I figure it must be that the low ABV was inefficient at extracting the oils. So far this seems to be true.

An alternative might be to whirlpool hop or use a hop back so the heat helps to dissolve some of the oils

 

[MoeFoties]

Quote:
Originally Posted by MoeFoties
Here's the finalized recipe of what I plan to brew Saturday. It's imortant to note I'll be brewing this beer with cigar in hand and 21st Amendment's "Bitter American" in my glass! Wish me luck ladies and gentlemen...I'll report back in 3-4 weeks

ATOMIC Session IPA
Batch Size: 6-Gallons
OG: 1.041
IBU: 43.79
Color: 8.9 SRM
Yeast: US-05 (if my LHBS is out I'll go with 1056)
Primary: 14-Days @ 68F
Secondary: 7-Day dry-hop @ 70F
Mash: 1.25 Qts/Lb for 45-min @ 156F

Grain Bill:
8 lbs Golden Promise (76.19%)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 (7.14%)
0.75 lbs Munich 10L (7.14%)
0.5 lbs Aromatic Malt (4.76%)
0.5 lbs Carapils (4.76%)

Hops:
Warrior 0.35oz FWH (18.11 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 20 (5.93 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.25oz @ 15 (4.86 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 0.5oz @ 10 (7.1 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 5 (7.81 IBU)
Falconer's Flight 1oz @ 0
Falconer's Flight 1oz Dry Hop (7-days)
Summit 1oz Dry Hop (7-Days)

Mine tasted pretty good coming out of primary yesterday (though it's always hard to tell with all that yeastiness). It should be ready for the real test in about 2 weeks or so...I'll be sure and post with the results. I brewed it as shown above, with the following modifications: 1/2 lb less Golden Promise, 1/4 lb more Munich, 0.45oz Amarillo FWH, 10-day primary @ 66F, and Wyeast 1272 American Ale II. My OG was a tad high at 1.044 (totally acceptable though) and my FG was 1.012 (just where I'd hoped).

This should be nice and carbed tonight! I'll be back soon with the results after just a couple days in the keg!

 

[MoeFoties]

This should be nice and carbed tonight! I'll be back soon with the results after just a couple days in the keg!

I sampled this last night in my new Stone Brewing Co. imperial pint glass. The hop character is excellent...this was my first time trying Falconer's Flight hops and I'm really enjoying them. This is definitely an easy-drinking summertime beer...but it could still use a little more body and malt character. I know I want to have my cake and eat it too, and I'm not entirely sure that's possible with a 4.2% beer intended to be drunk in quantity during the hot months of summer. The weather is supposed to warm-up here in the gray northwest this weekend for Father's Day, and I'm thinking this beer will be most enjoyed on the deck and in the sun! Good luck to all of you who keep seeking the perfect American Session Ale! Please keep the thread alive with your recipes and conclusions.

 

[terrapinj]

i'm pretty happy with the way mine turned out aside from hop aroma. it's there but not as in your face as I would have liked. will prob try using a tincture like pjj2ba tried.

will use a combo of hops next time as well instead of a single hop but I wanted to get an idea of what simcoe is like on it's own

 

[MoeFoties]

I sampled this last night in my new Stone Brewing Co. imperial pint glass. The hop character is excellent...this was my first time trying Falconer's Flight hops and I'm really enjoying them. This is definitely an easy-drinking summertime beer...but it could still use a little more body and malt character. I know I want to have my cake and eat it too, and I'm not entirely sure that's possible with a 4.2% beer intended to be drunk in quantity during the hot months of summer. The weather is supposed to warm-up here in the gray northwest this weekend for Father's Day, and I'm thinking this beer will be most enjoyed on the deck and in the sun! Good luck to all of you who keep seeking the perfect American Session Ale! Please keep the thread alive with your recipes and conclusions.

I'm actually enjoying this beer a lot now...it's fully carbed and the mouthfeel is a lot better than when I first tried it. It's certainly not an IPA, but it's definitely a great summer session beer. The one thing I would certainly change next time is the Summit hops. I will likely never use Summit again...I don't have a great nose, but I can really smell the "oniony" character many have described. I knew I was taking a risk, but I'm the kind of guy who has to find out for myself.

 

[borden]

I just brewed a variation on a previous session IPA I did. Recipe here:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1510338/specialty-beer-recipes/swamis-pale-ale

Definitely on the simple side, but I think it will be very drinkable and hoppy.

 

[BAJones]

I brewed the Pliny the Toddler session IPA a few months ago, found here but backed down even more on the base and got an OG of 1.039, but I did FWH and late additions, and dry hopped as well, and it's fantastic, it finished at 1.010 for just under 4%. I'll definitely brew it again, it's nice to see more people are interested in this (for a good commercial get the Lagunitas Day Time). This was a cheap brew, and didn't use a ridiculous amount of hops, but still came up at over 60 IBU (with my software). I think the hops really come through on these light grain bill brews.

 

[beerandloathinginaustin]

Hey fellow Session IPA lovers. Just wanted to report that I won 2nd Best Of Show recently with a recipe roughly based on this. My recipe is here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/purring-kitten-session-ipa-361175/

Here it is

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 6.63
Anticipated OG: 1.044 Plato: 11.07
Anticipated SRM: 8.6
Anticipated IBU: 48.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 90 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name
60.4 4.00 lbs. Pale Malt - Golden Promise
15.1 1.00 lbs. Vienna BestMalz
7.5 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt
5.7 0.38 lbs. Crystal 40L
5.7 0.38 lbs. Biscuit Malt
3.8 0.25 lbs. Crystal 60L
1.9 0.13 lbs. Dark Crystal II

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.00 g. Chinook Whole 13.00 22.2 First WH
18.00 g. Crystal Whole 4.60 4.4 20 min.
14.00 g. Sorachi Ace Pellet 10.90 8.9 20 min.
28.00 g. Crystal Whole 4.60 3.4 5 min.
28.00 g. Simcoe Whole 12.90 9.5 5 min.
28.00 g. Citra Pellet 11.00 0.0 Dry Hop
28.00 g. Simcoe Pellet 12.90 0.0 Dry Hop

Yeast

White Labs WLP023 Burton Ale

Mash Schedule

Mash in at 122 F and immediately heat to 155 F (took 16 min), Mash for 45 min the mash out at 170

Fermented at 65 F for 7 days before dry hopping in primary. Kegged 5 days later
FG was 1.012

Notes
"Dry" Hops were mixed with 10 Tbsp of vodka for 1 hr before adding everything to the pirmary fermenter

 

[AnchorBock]

Going to brew up a session IPA in a week or two to have on cask through my homemade hand pump/cask setup. Have some grain to use up and also some hops leftover from other batches that I plan to use up. I'm thinking of this as having a ordinary bitter type malt bill (2 row instead of MO though) with American IPA type hopping.

I'm adding all the kettle hops at flameout with a 30 minute hot steep to get a lot of flavor/aroma, should still get plenty of IBUs. Mashing high to get some decent body/mouthfeel while adding corn sugar to boost the gravity slightly and bring a little dryness (seems contradictory to mash high and add corn sugar, but I've done this with some ordinary bitters and really like the result).

1.039 OG
1.009 FG
Mash at 156
60 Min boil
86.5% 2 Row
5.4% Victory
2.7% Crystal 55
2.7% Crystal 120
2.7% Corn Sugar
WLP001
2 oz Columbus (15.2%) - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
1.5 oz Cascade - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
1 oz Centennial - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
Ferment at 67F raising temp as fermentation ends to about 70F (1 degree per day)
1.5 oz Cascade - dry hop in primary when gravity is around 1.010-1.011 for 6 days (3 days at 70, 3 days cold crash)

Should be kegging it 10-12 days after brew day with priming sugar and gelatin and drinking it 2 weeks later. Any thoughts from those of you that have made some session IPAs before?

 

[libeerty]

Have you had White Birch's Hop Session Ale? Really like that one. Great brewery too.

I have little experience with adding only after flameout, so maybe you can tons and tons of aroma/flavor that way, but I might up the dry hop a bit a bit. Maybe I'm nuts, but I find less than 3 oz. of dryhop to not be enough for me. But that is just me.

Going to subscribe to see how it comes out so I can brew it sometime.

 

[terrapinj]

i'd be surprised if you get very many ibus from your flameout addition - i'd still add a 60min or FWH addition

 

[AnchorBock]

Have you had White Birch's Hop Session Ale? Really like that one. Great brewery too.

I have little experience with adding only after flameout, so maybe you can tons and tons of aroma/flavor that way, but I might up the dry hop a bit a bit. Maybe I'm nuts, but I find less than 3 oz. of dryhop to not be enough for me. But that is just me.

Going to subscribe to see how it comes out so I can brew it sometime.

I have not tried any White Birch beers. I'll post an update with what I end up brewing and how it turns out in early February. In regards to the dry hop I typically would agree with you, but in this case I really just want to use up some open/resealed hop packages up. If I end up at the LHBS maybe I'll pick up another ounce or two of something else to dry hop with - perhaps some chinook?

i'd be surprised if you get very many ibus from your flameout addition - i'd still add a 60min or FWH addition

I have been debating on a 60 min addition as well. Typically when I make an APA recipe I do all flameout hot steep additions (learned the technique from the Firestone Walker CYBI podcasts) and when I do an IPA/IIPA I'll do a 60/90 min addition as well as the flameout hot steep addition. Obviously these different hopping schedules create a vastly different finished product, but even with a beer that is almost entirely hopped at flameout (with a hot steep) and dry hopped there are plenty of IBU's (even if many are just perceived IBUs and wouldn't actually measure) and the flavor/mouthfeel is really nice.

In this case I want to make something very drinkable/sessionable and I think the bittering/flavor/mouthfeel I get from the "whirlpool" addition is more of what I'm looking for in a cask low gravity "IPA" as opposed to having the "whirlpool" profile with a 60 minute addition. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Jazong]

I posted this yesterday, not sure why it didn't go through.

Start 6 point higher and end 6 points higher. You'll need way more back bone in this beer than in an Ordinary Bitter. Skip the sugar too. a FWH addition is also a good idea but you won't need nearly as many IBUs in a beer of this gravity as you would in a true IPA so no need to go crazy with the amount of the FWH addition. hop in the boil have effects on clarity as well so something near the beginning is always a god idea. Good luck and keep us posted.

Cheers,

-J

 

[terrapinj]

without significant IBU what differs a "session IPA" from a low ABV hoppy pale ale?

IMHO it's more than just low ABV and hoppy flavor - I think a noticeable bitterness is a key factor in a good IPA regardless of gravity

 

[Haputanlas]

Going to brew a Stone Levitation Clone from CYBI this week.

I will probably brew TheMadFermentationist's (Oldsock) Vienna Half IPA in the next few weeks as well. Looking to increase my hoppy session selection considerably.

I'll post my results as soon as I've completed.

 

[AnchorBock]

without significant IBU what differs a "session IPA" from a low ABV hoppy pale ale?

IMHO it's more than just low ABV and hoppy flavor - I think a noticeable bitterness is a key factor in a good IPA regardless of gravity

I think a lot of you underestimate the utilization from a whirlpool addition, but I don't disagree that you could call the recipe I posted above closer to a low ABV APA which is why I had "IPA" in quotes.

Just my opinion, but personally I prefer (and brew) APAs to be a bit cleaner overall and associate more citrusey/floral hops (cascade, centennial, etc) where an IPA I prefer dank/resiny/piney (CTZ, Simcoe, etc) hops so that is just more of a personal preference and is also why I'm calling this a session IPA as opposed to an APA. In either case I really enjoy the result of the 30 minute hot steep "whirlpool" addition. I've never gotten the hop flavor, aroma or mouthfeel using 30, 15, 10, 5, 0 min additions and chilling immediately after flameout.

As I stated I'll be serving this through a handpump at cellar temperature so I really don't want there to be too much body or a ton of up front bitterness - it needs to be something that we can have 3-4 pints of in a session. I'd like it to finish between 1.010 and 1.012. I found some MO so I'm going to add that which should get me closer to 1.044 or so after dropping the corn sugar as was suggested (don't want to dry it out too much).

I agree with the points about adding at least some hops during the boil for many reasons, but especially for some IBUs.

Here is the updated recipe:
(hops switched to grams as it's easier that way)
1.044 OG
1.011 FG
Mash at 156
60 Min boil
76% 2 Row
14% Marris Otter
5% Victory
2.5% Crystal 55
2.5% Crystal 120
WLP001
10 grams Columbus (15.2%) - 60 mins
10 grams Columbus (15.2%) - 30 mins
37 grams Columbus (15.2%) - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
57 grams Cascade (5.6%) - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
27 grams Centennial (11.6%) - 30 minute hot steep after flameout
Ferment at 67F raising temp as fermentation ends to about 70F (1 degree per day)
28 grams each of Cascade, Chinook and Simcoe - dry hop in primary when gravity is around 1.012-1.013 for 6 days (3 days at 70, 3 days cold crash)

I'm a little hesitant on the mash temp, Beersmith is estimating finishing at 1.011, but I have found Beersmith to be fairly inaccurate below 148 and above 154 in the past - anyone think I should bring the mash temp down a bit or does 156 look right?

Thanks for all the feedback so far, I appreciate it.